NATCHITOCHES – Kickoff has been moved up two hours, to a 4 p.m. start, for Northwestern State’s home football game Saturday afternoon at Turpin Stadium against Southland Conference foe Abilene Christian.

NSU director of athletics announced the shift Monday, designed to accommodate fans interested in watching that night’s 7 p.m. LSU at Alabama game. The Tigers’ head coach, Ed Orgeron, is a former standout Demon player and assistant coach.

The Demons are coming off a 10-7 win last Saturday at Houston Baptist. ACU’s Wildcats had an open date last weekend.

The change will not alter any related gameday activities. It’s Military Appreciation Day and NSU Faculty/Staff Appreciation Day, and the university admissions and recruiting department is hosting the annual N-Side View series of events for prospective students beginning Saturday morning and wrapping up at 3:30.

“We appreciate our friends at Abilene Christian, the Southland Conference and most of all, the many local and campus partners helping us make this time change,” said Burke. “There’s obviously a lot of interest in the LSU-Alabama game so moving up our kickoff allows our fans to enjoy great tailgating in Donald’s Demon Alley, to get into Turpin Stadium for all of the action supporting our Demons, and then to catch the LSU game on TV.

“We hope this change doesn’t inconvenience anyone, and we apologize if it does, but from the inquiries we’ve received, we believe moving up kickoff to the afternoon will be appreciated by the vast majority of our fans, our students and anyone attending our game Saturday,” he said.

NSU faculty and staff can claim two free game tickets and free tailgating tickets for the Presidential Tailgate at Collins Family Pavilion by contacting Mike Jacklich, NSU assistant athletics director for ticket operations, before Saturday. Jacklich can be reached in the NSU Athletic Fieldhouse, by calling 318-357-4268, or by email at jacklichm@nsula.edu.

Military Appreciation Day promotions include $5 tickets available for all veterans and active military personnel. Free tickets are available at Fort Polk to personnel stationed there. At 3:40 Saturday afternoon, all military and their guests are invited to the south end zone at Turpin Stadium to form the runout tunnel that the Demon football team uses to enter the field shortly before kickoff.

A Military Appreciation Day NSU T-shirt and ticket combo deal is available at Posey’s Sports Center in Natchitoches. Prices are $15 for a short-sleeved shirt and $20 for a long-sleeved shirt, and a game ticket.

A patriotic NSU helmet decal is on sale at NSUDemons.com/auctions for $12, with $2 of each purchase directed to the Wounded Warrior Project.